Secretary of Defence, Robert Gates and Secretary of States, Hillary Clinton announced the White House's new nuclear policy this afternoon.

Called a nuclear posture review, the new policy position would narrow the conditions for the use of nuclear weapons by the United States, while leaving in caveats for countries like Iran and North Korea.  Essentially, the new policy says that the United States will not use nuclear weapons against any country that is not also a nuclear nation, even if attacked by biological or chemical weapons. 

Secretary Gates said that the NPR found that they could reduce their stockpiles of weapons by 50% of START I levels and still maintain their nuclear deterrent, which was the starting point of negotiations with the Russians on the new START treaty.  This new policy is on top of the new START treaty and seems to be geared toward the international community, showing that the White House is serious about its goal of abolishing all nuclear weapons.

The new policy does a few other things as well.  It will abolish the development of new nuclear war heads, meaning that they will only use tried and tested designs, and focus on upgrading some of their current supply, unless under special circumstances, ordered by the President to develop new warheads.  It also calls for major upgrades to ageing nuclear infrastructure, as well as manpower for nuclear facilities, with the Department of Defence transferring at least $5 billion to the department of energy. 

Probably most importantly, the new policy puts a heavier emphasis on rogue elements or states and our ability to prevent dangerous technologies from falling into the wrong hands, moving away from the traditional emphasis on nuclear attacks on nations like China or Russia. 

Watch the Clip below: